10/28/2014
UN Faults Restrictions on Travelers from Ebola-Stricken Lands
UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “is concerned” about recent moves to restrict the movements of travelers from Ebola-affected nations, his spokesperson said on Monday.
Ban “believes that these restrictions have put particular pressure on health-care workers and those who have been on the frontline of the Ebola response,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters.
The governors of the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey announced last Friday that travelers arriving at New York City airports from the countries in West Africa where Ebola has killed nearly 5,000 people would be subject to mandatory 21-day quarantine.
Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie instituted the policy after a New York City physician who had recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea as a volunteer for Doctors Without Borders tested positive for the virus.
The Obama administration and others have criticized the move by Christie and Cuomo and a nurse placed in quarantine last week after arriving at Newark, New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport is due to be released later Monday after testing negative for Ebola.
“Returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity. They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science,” Ban’s spokesperson said.
The best protection against Ebola “is to stop the outbreak at its source in West Africa,” Dujarric said. “This requires considerable international health care worker support and in return for this support, we have an obligation to look after them.”
Governments and international organizations have suggested that mandatory quarantines for returning health-care workers could deter doctors and nurses from joining the fight against Ebola in West Africa.
source
UN Faults Restrictions on Travelers from Ebola-Stricken Lands
UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “is concerned” about recent moves to restrict the movements of travelers from Ebola-affected nations, his spokesperson said on Monday.Ban “believes that these restrictions have put particular pressure on health-care workers and those who have been on the frontline of the Ebola response,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters.
The governors of the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey announced last Friday that travelers arriving at New York City airports from the countries in West Africa where Ebola has killed nearly 5,000 people would be subject to mandatory 21-day quarantine.
Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie instituted the policy after a New York City physician who had recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea as a volunteer for Doctors Without Borders tested positive for the virus.
The Obama administration and others have criticized the move by Christie and Cuomo and a nurse placed in quarantine last week after arriving at Newark, New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport is due to be released later Monday after testing negative for Ebola.
“Returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity. They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science,” Ban’s spokesperson said.
The best protection against Ebola “is to stop the outbreak at its source in West Africa,” Dujarric said. “This requires considerable international health care worker support and in return for this support, we have an obligation to look after them.”
Governments and international organizations have suggested that mandatory quarantines for returning health-care workers could deter doctors and nurses from joining the fight against Ebola in West Africa.
source
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